North Carolina, Charlotte – Almost a month ago, a petition was launched to request the signature of Colombians residing in the Carolinas, with the purpose of having a Colombian Consulate headquarters in the city of Charlotte.
The petition was launched on July 20 on the Change.org platform, coinciding with the commemoration of the Independence of Colombia. It was massively promoted during the Colombian Festival held on Saturday, July 22.
Since then the petition to open a consular headquarters has been signed by 2,690 people, and has been viewed by more than 15,000, according to the promoters of the initiative to collect signatures; led by the organization Líderes Colombianos en Charlotte (LCC).
“We want the people of Charlotte and the main regions where Colombians are concentrated to sign it. We are grateful that people from other places and even from Colombia have signed it, but our interest is to collect at least 10% of the people who live in the two Carolinas, which total close to 70,000,” she told Enlace Latino NC , Rafael Prieto, journalist co-founder of LCC.
LCC data updated on August 7 shows the three regions of North Carolina where the petition signers come from, which are Charlotte, the Triangle, and the Triad.
- Charlotte Region (26 cities): 1,228 signatures in Charlotte.
- Triangle Region (18 cities): 65 signatures from Raleigh, 32 from Durham.
- Triad Region (17 cities): 15 signatures in Greensboro, 13 signatures in Winston-Salem.
7,000 signatures needed
Prieto points out that the goal of 7,000 signatures is important to show support for the petition. “The community has to get involved and take responsibility to achieve that goal, which is for their own benefit,” he noted.
It is expected that, once the goal of signatories has been achieved, the petition will be presented directly to the Colombian Foreign Ministry, along with the signatures, and with the ambassador in Washington DC, Luis Guillermo Murillo, who was a special guest at the Colombian Festival and before who formally presented himself petition to open a Colombian Consulate in Charlotte.
Colombians in North Carolina can sign the petition here
No donation required when signing the petition
The LLC organization has been clarifying that “it is not mandatory to donate money” when signing the petition on the Change.org platform.
Signatories who support the petition to open the consulate “can choose to share the petition,” as offered by the platform. The request to donate money is done automatically by Change.org in the settings you have on your platform.
Family reunification in the United States
They begin sending invitations to Colombians and Central Americans
What is needed to have a consulate
Prieto explained that, to install a consulate in a place, one sees the need, the population in the region, and the distance to other consular offices.
“We believe that Charlotte is an ideal city, because there are already four latin consulates in North Carolina. Basically, we look to see if there is enough population so that the expenses generated by a consulate can be made sustainable, and if there are enough people requesting the services,” he noted.
Most of the Colombian communities in this region have a shorter distance from Charlotte, compared to Atlanta (Georgia), where the Colombian Consulate is located, with jurisdiction for the Carolinas and six other states.
Where are Colombians concentrated?
According to Census data updated in 2021, 39,491 Colombians reside in North Carolina, while 21,503 live in South Carolina, for a total of 60,994, this without taking into account those who have arrived in the last two years to the Carolinas.
Interactive maps of Colombians in North Carolina and South Carolina, prepared with Census data by Lennin Caro, of the “Camino Research Institute”, an entity based in Charlotte, indicate that the majority of Colombians are concentrated in 13 counties in Carolina from North.
Mecklenburg (6,122), Wake, where Raleigh is located (3,876), Guilford (1,432), Durham (1,367), Gaston (1,305), Cumberland (1,209), Union (1,208), Forsyth (966), Iredell (821), Cabarrus (690), New Hanover (659), Buncombe (609), Onslow (652). In smaller numbers, Colombians reside in another 54 counties. North Carolina has 100 counties.
In South Carolina, where the most Colombians live is in Greenville County, especially in the city of the same name. In that county, 13% of the population is from this country, with 6,590, surpassing Mecklenburg, where Charlotte is located.
Colombians are also settled in the counties of Spartamburg (1,093), Beaufort (832), Richland (829), Lexington (739), Berkeley (636), Horry, where the beach city Myrtle Beach is located (591), Aiken ( 523). In smaller numbers in 27 other counties in that state. There are 46 counties in this state.
Insufficient appointments at the mobile consulate
The Colombian Leaders organization in Charlotte, along with other organizations and groups of Colombians in the area, have organized the two most recent visits of the Colombian Consulate in Charlotte.
“Our experience in organizing consulates in Charlotte has shown us that the number of people who come to request services without an appointment exceeds those who make it, and they leave heartbroken and upset for not being able to be served,” Prieto commented.
Prieto said that many of the people who come to the mobile consulates that have been made, have moved from Raleigh, Winston-Salem, in North Carolina, and from Greenville and Columbia in South Carolina.
“Unfortunately they cannot be attended to. Having the consulate here would be a solution for the Atlanta consulate itself, which has always had the problem of not having enough personnel to cover 7 states,” he concluded.
Appointments are made virtually on the website of the Colombian Consulate in Atlanta. However, the 120 appointments it usually has available run out quickly once the Foreign Ministry activates the site.
¿How to support?
Colombians interested in supporting the petition to open a Colombian Consulate in Charlotte can sign the petition by clicking on the following link: Change.org
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